Rotten
by The Wheezing Dragon
Summary: Years after the two have grown apart as rivals, Jack calls upon Kimiko for computer repairs. What starts out as a longing for retribution and forgiveness quickly evolves into more than the former Heylin member could ever dream of.


Oh, but that boy was awful.

A pale youth in a scarlet sparring robe rose to her feet, her glimmering, blue eyes never leaving her adversary's smug countenance. She brushed a few jet black strands of hair back behind her ears as she stood, wiping mud from her cheeks and nose as she did, and practically spat in disgust. How humiliating, actually being knocked down by a slime-ball like Spicer. It was bad enough that he had actually managed to physically overthrow her, but now he possessed the Eye of Dashi.

_Just perfect_, she seethed. It was all she could do to keep from simply lunging to wipe that stupid smile off of his face.

The lad in question simply smirked at his rival, holding what she had been after just out of her reach. He could not have been more than fourteen, but he already towered over the girl, making it that much easier for him to keep the artifact out of the safe clutches of the Xiaolin. He glanced over the carmine gem and elaborate bevel before he returned his gaze to the dark-haired warrior.

"Aww, that really is a good look for you, Kim," he chuckled wickedly as he slipped the glittering stone into one of the pockets of his ratty coat, "I love what you've done with your hair."

"How sweet of you to notice," the raven-haired girl managed a sneer, "I was really going for somethin'… earth-toned."

She did strike out now, and landed a good three punches to the boy's side, making him yelp in pain and sending him down on his back into the mushy, rain-soddened terrain. Kimiko could not help but feel a little surge of joy at sending him sprawling, and she audibly laughed as she leapt on top of him to wrestle him and get her Wu back.

"Haha! Not such a hotshot now, huh, Jack?" the young warrior held him down in the mud, grasping him by his thick, cherry-red hair and rubbing his face in the wet soil, making him curse and sputter. "Cough up the Eye of Dashi, 'n' I'll let ya go without an extreme makeover."

"Fat chance!" the redhead growled amid wheezing and kicking. He dug viciously at her ribs with the studded knuckles of his gloves, but the girl would not budge.

Resolved to make him give up – and subsequently apologize for his foolishness – as quickly as possible, Kimiko held the lad's face down in the earth as hard as she could with one hand, and rapidly scooped up a handful of thick, soupy sediment. The moment she rubbed it against his swept-back scarlet hair, he began to scream. He writhed, much harder than before, and actively began to kick and buck in feeble attempts to get the girl away from him.

"Jack Bots!" he barked, "Get this freak offa me!"

In a flash, Kimiko and her rival were surrounded by what looked like truncated suits of glistening, black and bronze armor, which were propelled through the air by either rapidly spinning rudders and blades or small jets of cerulean flames. They circled about briefly, glaring at the girl with crimson LED eyes that appeared as tiny slits of light from under the visors of their helmets, alternately buzzing and clanking as they armed themselves at their master's command. One of the Bots presently rushed at the Xiaolin Warrior, rocketing forward while aiming its two clawed hands at her. Kimiko easily dodged this one, ducking and rolling into a murky puddle immediately to her right. When she rose again, however, she was almost promptly taken back down for another wallow in the mud as another one of Jack's metal thugs seized her by her collar. She struggled briefly, but was able to get away with minimal damage to her sparring robes. The robots circled around her more tightly now, angrily rattling and staring her down with flashing, artificial eyes.

"Mince 'er!" She heard the vile redhead snap at them.

That boy truly was awful. Well, he certainly was not quite competent enough to be full-fledged _evil_, but he was rotten enough to make Kimiko's stomach actually churn when he did things like this.

No matter. She set to her usual business of bringing Jack's stupid circus of mechanical miscreants crashing down around his ears. The raven-haired girl launched herself into the air, flipping and kicking with expert precision. A few graceful kicks took the heads off of two Jack Bots, sending them careening out of control without their guidance systems. She managed to dismember a few others with some slight difficulty, straining her small muscles a bit as she tore their servos free of their frames. Within a minute's time, she had effectively demolished every Bot that the lad had sent after her.

Victory, Kimiko soon realized, was not to be so easily achieved. Upon spinning around to pursue her obnoxious target, she saw that he had already managed to scuttle some ways through the marsh they had found themselves in.

_Oh, no you don't, Spicer!_ The girl smirked angrily, brushing filthy, tangled hair out of her eyes.

She raced after the raggedy goth, cursing her luck and silently praying that she would have enough energy to win a Showdown if she needed to. It was not long before she had overtaken Jack, and the monk tackled him head-on, slamming him into the dirt and sending the Eye of Dashi flying from his pocket.

"_Waugh!_" the boy yelped, both in fright at being caught and in pain from the impact. "You've got some nerve, princess!" he scowled at her.

"You're one to talk," Kimiko growled, "Give the Eye back! Or do you have some more flying toasters that need to be scrapped?"

That last remark made Jack's face contort in fury. It made Kimiko smile again.

With a wild, scrambling reach, she scraped up the Eye of Dashi from the swampy earth, but the redheaded boy was just a little too fast for her. She hissed as she felt his sticky hands form a surprisingly strong grip about her own, and the two were right back to where they started: squabbling and tussling on the ground. The more they thrashed and fought against one another, the more the Eye's shimmering center began to glow. Kimiko was the first to take notice.

"That's enough, Jack! Let go!" the monk snarled at her rival.

Evidently, her anger was as amusing to him, just as much as his pain was entertaining to her.

"C'mon, Kim. Let's settle this like grown-ups!" he cackled, "I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!"

The raven-head crumpled her face momentarily, and then sighed, "I accept."

Well, it was not as though she had a choice. She was going to have to win the Eye of Dashi back, after all, and she could already gather it was not going to be as pleasant as dispatching the Jack Bots. The monk rasped as she felt the soreness of her knuckles and feet catching up with her.

"And it's your lucky day," Jack continued with a sneer, "We'll be swamp hoppin'. Just don't fall in, and you'll be fine!"

"Sounds like a blast to me," Kimiko snorted, "Hope you brought flippers and a float in that stupid backpack o' yours, 'cause I wager the Star of Hannabi!"

"_Pfft!_" the boy made a raspberry noise at her, "I wager the Jet Bootsu. Let's rock 'n' roll!"

As soon as the last words left Jack's mouth, the ground buckled, sending both youngsters rolling away from one another and subsequently losing the Eye. The shining artifact shot past them, rocketing off into the distance of the marshes. When it came to a stop, its red glow could just barely be made out as a fuzzy speck through the mist. Meanwhile, the earth seemed to come alive for a short time, vigorously rearranging itself by alternately squeezing together or tearing asunder large, sodden landmasses.

Everything seemed to rumble, sway, and slosh for a few moments, but when the fog cleared, both Kimiko and Jack could see that their new surroundings were clearly fashioned for the initiation of the Showdown. They, themselves, were now respectively slumped on two elevated mounds of dirt and loose foliage, while the rest of the swamp stretched on in a freakishly twisted tunnel of water and soggy stepping stones.

It did not look so foreboding, Kimiko thought. At least, it did not seem treacherous at first glance. When she squinted to look at the Eye's position at the "finish line," she noticed that the surrounding waters were darker than murky… In fact, they were almost black. The prospect of falling in alone, now, was simply terrifying. It would not simply be slow going if she took a little tumble into that shadowy stew. She might not even come back out until the Showdown was over!

That last little thought made her stomach turn, and her sapphire eyes went wide with worry. How humiliating that would be, indeed. If she lost the Eye of Dashi to some clumsy footwork, she would never hear the end of it from her peers back at the Temple. However, she surmised, with her opponent being the ever odious Jack Spicer, she might not have to worry about keeping herself ahead.

Before the monk even turned to look at the boy, she could practically feel his vermilion eyes burning the back of her head with sheer malice. His mouth was curled into a positively nefarious smile as he donned his Shen Gong Wu of choice: a pair of heavy, brass-armored boots with intricate carvings in their metallic accents.

"What's the matter, Kimi? Scared of losing to the greatest evil genius that ever lived?" he leered.

"I might be. Just lemme know when one actually shows up," the girl fumed, her porcelain features slowly turning a mild peach. She heroically managed a smile to cover her frustration at his impudence. "Ready?"

"I was born ready, baby! _Jet Bootsu!_"

The bottoms to the Wu that adorned Jack's feet presently erupted in a flurry of glittering, blue flames, launching him off of the safety of his mound and into the swamp's vile mists.

Kimiko followed after him, cursing as she leapt from the land, while drawing out her trusty Star. It was roughly the same size as the Eye of Dashi, but had thicker plating in its design and held a gem that gleamed with unearthly intensity within its bevel. She clutched its clean, five-pointed metal frame in one hand, and aimed it at her adversary as he rocketed through the air.

"_Star of Hannabi, FIRE!_" she called, right before touching down a good five stepping stones into the course.

The center of the Star exploded in a dazzling blaze, sending sparks flying, and effectively making Jack turn his head in alarm. He ducked out of Kimiko's line of fire just in time, barely avoiding the fireball that she had sent screaming his way. The next one was a little trickier, as it almost forced him to drop out of the sky to save himself. Soon, the redhead found himself yelping, bobbing, weaving, careening chaotically, and utterly failing to stay on track with his target at the finish line.

Below, on the stones, the Wudai Warrior laughed to herself in glee. There was nothing to be afraid of. Jack was just as hilariously inept as ever, and she would have no trouble reclaiming the Eye.

She chuckled happily as she leapt easily from stone to stone, occasionally glancing upward to line up another good shot at her sorry excuse for an opponent. Needless to say, it would have been far more beneficial for her to keep an eye on her footing…

The monk launched one last blazing comet from the Star of Hannabi's gem, right as she felt her right foot sink into something horribly cold and slick. With a mortified cry, she went down waist-deep into the muck. Were it not for her years of training at the Temple, she might have completely lost her bearings and toppled head over heels off of the stone. There were a good two seconds the poor girl spent panicking before she realized that she was, in fact, _not_ being sucked down into the depths, and she took the opportunity to save herself some time. Unfortunately, when she did scramble back onto a stepping stone and looked to the misty sky, there was no sign of Jack.

_Great. That's just awesome…_

Kimiko could feel a lump forming in her throat out of sheer exasperation and dread. Tears of rage stung in her eyes as she scanned her surroundings—

Right as the redheaded nuisance came tumbling out of the air, screeching irately.

He crashed headlong into her, and the two of them went for an agonizing, slimy roll off of the course. When they emerged from the mud, gasping for air and screaming curses at one another, Kimiko could see that Jack had actually sustained some damage from her last shot. One of the lenses of his goggles had begun to warp and melt, some of his flaming red hair had been singed almost down to the scalp, and the pallid flesh of his face was blistering and pinkened from being burned. He breathed heavily as he tried to haul himself out of the swamp, and stared with watering, ruby eyes at the monk –

No, not watering... she noticed. He was crying.

It became more obvious when he started rushing towards her, slinging fistfuls of mud in an attempt to keep pushing her back towards their starting point. Little white stripes had formed on his cheeks amid his bleeding makeup and the caked-on dirt.

"You shot me outta the sky! _You owe me new goggles, Tohomiko!_"

"Quit bein' such a baby, Spicer!" Kimiko managed to knock him down and wrestle him, despite the mounting worry that gnawed at her. Jack might have been awful, but he certainly did not deserve to be hurt so badly.

Still, she knew, one of them needed to end the Showdown. The sooner that was done with, the better. With all the fortitude she could muster, the warrior swallowed her guilt at seeing the rotten boy in pain, and gave him a mighty shove so that he went sprawling into the soft, black earth.

"No fair!" he cried out in protest, "You get back here!"

Kimiko practically snorted at him as she scrambled back up to the stepping stones and proceeded to leave him behind. In a couple bounding leaps, she had neared the end of the course. The Eye of Dashi was within her sights once more, its glittering, caramel-red gem staring back at her from the little island it was suspended over.

Victory! Victory at last! She could practically feel the water of a hot shower upon her, and she could almost hear the congratulations of her friends and peers, the Wudai Warriors, back at the Temple. In her sheer excitement, the raven-head disregarded the distant sound of Jack calling upon his Wu one last time. But all it took was a sudden shove from a set of cold, clammy hands to snap her out of it.

The monk went down with a scream again, this time landing on her face against the stone directly before her. There was a resounding crack, her body seemed to go limp, and she slipped like a broken doll into the inky mud. Her vision became appallingly fuzzy, but she already knew what had happened.

Jack was laughing horribly… That disgusting, squeaky cackle reverberated in her skull even more loudly now that she had come to terms with losing. She could barely see from the abrupt impact on her skull, but she could make out the boy's ragged shadow looming over, and _that_ really put things into perspective.

For the first time in what felt like eons, this scumbag was triumphant over the Xiaolin. There was no way she was ever going to live this down.

Kimiko groaned a little in her throat, and instinctively raised her hand to her forehead as she rolled over. It may have been a feeble attempt, indeed, but she was resolved to try once more to trip him up. Right as he was about to step over her, she made up her mind to grab his coat tails and drag him down with her.

"You… je-jerk…" the monk sputtered as she seized a fistful of ratty, black cloth.

She could not see his face clearly, but she heard his breath hitch in his throat. It was then that she decided to have a look at the hand she had placed to her face... and the sight of it chilled her to the bone.

Everything from her finger pads to her wrist was dripping with scarlet blood.

Still dazed, the wounded girl stared at it, completely disregarding the sensation of thick fluid sliding down her forehead, past her eyes, and onto her cheeks. She realized, at length, that she must have stared at it a little too long, because she presently gathered the presence of two slender limbs going beneath her armpits. Jack was trying to pick her up.

When the boy's face finally registered in her mind, it was all Kimiko could do to keep from whimpering – the lad looked simply terrified.

"K-Kim? C'mon… Hurry up, c'mon," he spoke to her almost pleadingly. "You were almost there. C'm—yeah, there you go…"

She was jostled about considerably, but eventually sensed the solid surface of the island beneath her back. Then, she felt something she did not expect, at all. Such a thing could not possibly occur in a million years. And yet, here he was, pushing her across the finish line.

"C'mon, Kim," Jack's voice was audibly cracking as he helped the monk hold her arm upright, "Get it!"

The instant her bloody fingers scraped the Eye's surface, the world went completely white. The brilliance alone prompted Kimiko to close her eyes, though the girl assumed she might have done so either way. It was growing very difficult just to stay awake. When it was certain that the Showdown was done, the monk took a hazy look about, and was surprised to find that she was still in her opponent's skinny arms. Everything in the environment had returned to its previous state, but, unfortunately for the brawling rivals, all their wounds had remained.

"'M s-s-sorry," Jack murmured to her, "I-I'll give ya a ride home, okay? We'll b-be even."

His features were noticeably contorted in fright, and his burns and bruises just made him look all the more pitiable. Since she could not bring herself to speak for the time being, Kimiko settled for giving him a weak nod.

With that, the two set off into the fog, with the battered Xiaolin Warrior clutching not one, but three Wu to her chest, while being half-carried half-dragged along. It would be some time before they even relocated the bizarre contraption that Jack had managed to fly himself out to the swamps in, and it would be even longer before Kimiko was home to rest. That was plenty of time to wonder on the redhead's display of kindness.

Perhaps not kindness, the girl thought. It was really more akin to pity, like the kind she had on him. Given enough time, the boy would be back to his repulsive self, and they would be at it all over again…

x

It had certainly been some time, indeed.

Jack huffed out an infuriated sigh as he snapped his laptop shut. Since it was one of only two light sources in his dim room, his surroundings abruptly became considerably more abysmal – not that he minded. It was easier for him to collect his thoughts when alone in the dark like this.

_Five damned disk cleanings and a hard restart!_ The exhausted youth groaned internally.

It was all he could do to keep from actually smacking the stubborn, little machine against his face. He had done everything he could for it, and it continued to freeze up at random. Its systems had been so riddled with glitches as of late, it was impossible to tell where to begin as far as getting things sorted out. Even just last night, the instant messaging program had gone completely bonkers, erasing and re-adding contacts, altering time stamps, and even scrambling words as he typed!

The redhead rasped in his throat unhappily as he collapsed backwards onto his bed, begrudgingly setting his computer aside on the already packed nightstand. He did not even bother to plug it into its adapter to charge it.

_No use, anyway. Gonna take some sort of miracle to fix that doorstop waiting to happen…_

Amid his disgruntled thoughts tumbled a solution or two. However, the longer he let them stew in his mind, the more he realized how unaffordable they were. Living alone in a cramped, little townhouse _and_ going to school did not usually allow leeway in the matters of buying new electronics.

That last conclusion only frustrated Jack more, and he presently rolled off the bed to start rummaging through his belongings in search of something to seize his attention for a bit. Over in a corner towered a precariously assembled personal treasure trove: an old bookshelf, which incidentally held everything except actual books. CDs and old media players weighed down the first two shelves, while the lower ones held a gaggle of action figures from nostalgic cartoons. The middle shelves were the ones that the youth had his eyes on at the moment, however, and housed a menagerie of consoles, discs, and cartridges. Perhaps a game would help calm his nerves a little, Jack thought, and he set to pawing through the library. Unfortunately, a few moments of skimming only reminded him how badly he needed to replace some of the titles. He knew he would grow too frustrated or bored shortly after starting up any of these. All right, maybe mind-numbing button-mashing was not the right thing to go after in a time like this.

The redhead began to wring his hands in anxiety. There was no way he could practice programming for software design class, not with the current state of things… To make matters worse, all his illustrating programs were on his malfunctioning mess of a laptop! He had long since given up traditional blueprint drawing and now could not even draw out some new bot designs to calm himself.

_Oh, man…_ Jack could feel his lean frame physically shaking.

It had been a long time since he had been in such a dire technological predicament. No money to fix the damned thing immediately – not unless he wanted to either drop his classes or starve himself for a month – and nothing to do to help him pass the time while thinking of solutions.

The boy flopped back onto his bed again, uttering guttural whimpers of genuine distress, and let himself sink into the meager cushioning. With sunken, crimson eyes, he glanced sadly at the wall-mounted shelves of his crowded, little bedroom. Framed photographs and rusty inventions stared back at him, gathering dust and further congesting the scant space. Knowing how long he had abandoned constructing and creating momentarily replaced the pang of worry within him with a sharp prickle of grief. Yet, the lad could not help but smile at the sight of his old heli-bot, the frames of his old robotic henchmen, and…

That picture.

All notions of sadness and fear alike were abruptly banished at the sight of it. How could he have forgotten? Surely rigorous schoolwork and scrambling for cash could not have erased something so sweet as this. It had been so long. Jack rose from his bed with a start, nearly knocking everything off of his desk and nightstand as he scrambled over to the shelf. Standing on tip-toes, he was able to grasp the photo by its tarnished frame.

Just looking at it made the boy's heart skip a beat. Though the image, itself, was no more than a good three years old, the fact that its frame was so neglected and dirty made it feel as though the youth were delving through ancient history. His own pallid countenance smiled up at him, sharply contrasting the current gloom. A healthy, vibrant, twenty-year-old redhead embraced a sleek, young woman with milky skin, piercing eyes, and jet black hair. Both of them were exceptionally decked out – they had taken the picture sometime after a concert had ended, Jack recalled – so they were dressed in spiked accessories, heavy boots, and all black garb, yet the pair looked anything but threatening. They looked so happy… so alive. The scar on Kimiko's face was barely noticeable when she was smiling like that…

A couple drops of water presently splattered the photo's surface, and Jack realized that he was crying. God, he had not so much as bothered to talk to her in forever, the lad thought as he wiped his eyes. Had he not run into her at that show, he would have never taken the photo, and he might have forgotten her altogether!

For a while, all the redhead could do was stare, alternately sniffing and wiping tears from his face. He thoughtfully thumbed at the dusty frame that held this precious memory, and, at length, decided to remove it from its holds. There was a moment of disbelief as he held the image alone in his hands. It looked so much better when not obscured by filthy glass, and the striking change in clarity on Kimiko's features only made the boy long to speak to his unlikely friend even more.

_Like hell is that gonna happen ever again, though_, Jack thought with remorse.

It was pure luck that they had met so many years after parting ways at their last solo Showdown. It was also borderline cosmic that, not only had she forgiven him for breaking her face, she had been just as glad to see him as he was to see her. With a noise that was more of a cry than an exhalation, Jack returned to the comfort of his pillows once more. The exasperated boy curled up among the snarl of quilts as he took in the details, slowly but surely recalling details about the girl—her scathing, sardonic comebacks, her adorable getups, and her impeccable understanding of machines. The simple notion of having her expertise on hand made him smile.

_What I wouldn't give for a word with you right now, Kim._

The youth lay back, half-hoping that sleep would soon take him and ease his yearning… But something caught his attention that made him practically snap back upright.

There. When he lay down with the photo in hand, the LED display from his clock shone through the image, revealing something written upon the back. Upon turning it over, the redhead was astonished to discover a short, hastily scrawled message – something "was a blast" – a date, and a phone number.

At first, Jack was hesitant to even reach for his cell phone. How was he supposed to greet the girl he had practically spent his childhood with? A call out of the blue would just sound too creepy, but he had to remind himself that she was probably one good shot he had at getting one of his few gadgets working again.

_Just call 'er up… We just need the comp patched up, _he told himself. _Nothin' to it. If she wants to be friends and chill out, awesome. If she doesn't, she doesn't, and in the end, all's well and we don't have to cough up a lung and a kidney to fix the stupid laptop._

It still took some considerable internal debate for the boy to really convince himself to dial the number, and when he did, he felt his heart rate soar. He began to tremble almost uncontrollably as the dial tone sounded, he struggled to keep the phone pinned to his ear, and he had to fight to keep his breathing under control.

_Oh, man. Oh, man. Oh, man._

"Moshi-moshi," came a cheerful voice, and Jack thought he felt his heart stop for a moment.

"H-hey," he squeaked, "If this isn't Kimiko, I'm real sorry…"

"Jack? Is that you?" the voice's tone changed quite noticeably, going from saccharine to downright flabbergasted, "Oh, my god, it's been years!"

"Y-yeah, it has," the boy had to clap his hand over his mouth to hold back a sob, "Listen, I hate to wake you up in the middle o' the night like this—"

"Don't even worry about it. How've you been?"

Jack could not help but chuckle out loud, "I dunno if I should tell you, Kim. 'Cause the favor I have to ask would definitely make us… _not even_, anymore."

The bubbly laughter that came from the other end of the line made the boy's face light up bright pink.

"Heh heh, try me, Spicer," he heard her say.

"O-ho, you're _on_."

x

The ride out to California had been a bit of a bore, but that was a miniscule damper on this evening's events. Jack stumbled out from under the last overpass, swaying slightly with exhaustion. Skipping lunch and dinner had been worth all that bus fare, which, collectively, was already a far cry away from the price of a new laptop to begin with. Hiking through downtown San Diego's terrifying intersections and vagrant camps was worth it, just to be standing here.

The last five minutes of walking brought the boy to the front gates of a gorgeous, colorful array of townhouses, which were surrounded by high, spiked, metal fence posts. Each of the buildings stood three stories high, retained decorative carvings upon their front entrances, and had large windows to offer fantastic views of the surrounding city. Clearly, these were the abodes of either the richest of citizens or the luckiest of college students.

_Looks like Kimiko sure has moved up in the world_, the redhead mused as he strode up to the gate to page his hostess.

Before he could even reach for the buzzer, the front door to the condo on his far left swung open, and a sleek, brightly-dressed girl came sprinting towards him.

"There you are!" Kimiko called out to the boy as she hastily yanked the gate open, "C'mon in! You look like you haven't eaten in years…"

Jack was not particularly listening to the last remark. Rather, he was taking in the sight for sore eyes that was his long-forgotten friend. The Japanese beauty had evidently never quit the habit of changing up her wardrobe, nor had she given up dying her hair unconventional colors. She currently modelled a badly-ripped, orange blouse and a pair of cropped black cargo shorts, complete with suspenders. As for the do' that crowned her, it had been whacked off at earlobe-length, bleached almost completely white, and dyed with soft, lavender undertones. All these details aside, however, the best part of seeing Kimiko once more was the most striking one: her porcelain face sported neatly defined brows, matte black-painted lips, subtle rouge, and simply immaculate, thick eyeliner. When she ceased to smile at the boy and began staring at him worriedly with those glimmering, sapphire eyes, it very nearly did him in.

"I-I am a li'l' hungry," the redhead managed, barely able to keep his wobbling knees under control, "But th-that can wait. I'm just so happy to see you again… You look great."

With that, Kimiko seemed to shed any nuance of regret, and she threw her slender arms around the youth before her. Jack very nearly yelped aloud at the suddenness, but he quickly returned the gesture, squeezing the girl's small frame to his own rail-thin build gratefully. Much to his amazement, the hugging continued for a good minute or two, and he could even feel the girl begin to rock him slightly to tighten her hold.

It was then that she said something that Jack was certain could have only been heard in a dream:

"I've missed you so much," Kimiko mumbled, right before breaking their embrace.

She looked up at him again with those bottomless, blue eyes, and the redhead realized that he must have been crying, because she began to pat his face dry with the sleeve of her blouse.

"C'mon, let's get you inside," she wrapped her arms around him once more, and then proceeded to lead him up the steps and through the front door.

Moments later, Jack nearly physically collapsed from the overwhelmingly inviting atmosphere of Kimiko's home. He vaguely heard her ordering him to take a seat on the sofa, which he promptly flopped down upon. When the lad retrieved his laptop from its confines in his satchel, his hostess immediately took the liberty of flipping it open and beginning her work. Even if Jack had not brought the finicky device in for the express purpose of receiving the girl's expert care, he did not have the energy or desire to protest against her gesture.

"Aw, poor baby…" Kimiko crooned empathetically as she began assembling a few smaller machines all around the redhead's computer, "Must be a gnarly boot error. The newer models of these little guys are known for that…"

For a while, all the boy could do was observe in a mix of fascination and admiration while his companion plugged in external tools and bypassed his scrambled lock screen. In just a few quick, carefully chosen commands, she had managed to enter the account without even needing his password. She had also righted the start-up screen in the process. The girl truly was amazing.

"_That_ was wicked," he told her, a rapt smile spreading across his face.

"All right, got in. What I'm gonna do now is back up all your data in case somethin' goes _really_ screwy. You can totally keep the hard drive when I'm done, too. Li'l' gift from one friend to another," Kimiko regarded him with a sweet grin before returning to her task at hand, "Okaaaay…. _Bam!_ Yeah, let's let that cleaner run for a little while, 'n' we'll see what's wrong. Want somethin' to eat while we wait?"

"Yeah…" Jack murmured.

He was momentarily blissfully unaware of the rosy hue that now tainted his otherwise stark white complexion. It was just so surreal to be here, not simply with Kimiko, but _welcome_ to stay with her. A part of him that had always remained wracked with worry and regret now writhed within, one last internal outcry that insisted that there was something very, very selfish about this. True, it had been out of his own longing that he had called out for the girl, but how could he feel so rotten when she looked so cheerful?

The answer came to him in the form of a thoughtful touch on his cheek, and the lad almost recoiled in sheer surprise.

"You okay? You're all pink," the pale-haired girl asked him.

"I'm-m... f-fine… It's just… weird, seeing you again," he stammered, his face growing even brighter red, contorting slightly in apprehension. "I guess… I've j-just missed you a lot…"

She looked taken aback for half a second, but quickly caved to smiling softly again, "It really has been a long time, you poor freak. C'mon. Dinner's this way."

With that, the lad found himself being ushered to the kitchen with his friend, and it was as though all the years apart just melted away. The gaps between the two filled with talk – talk of schooling, work, movies, and games – right before giving way to affectionate gestures that only further fooled Jack into thinking he may have been dreaming. He was sure he felt Kimiko nuzzle his ear during a particularly long and aggressive hug, but he dismissed it as wishful thinking. What convinced him that he was, in fact, very much awake was when dinner was finally retrieved from the freezer for a rather unconventional preparation.

"Don't knock it 'til you try it," Kimiko smirked at him, however playfully, "I won't burn you, I promise."

Apparently, the girl had been practicing putting her signature move as a Xiaolin Dragon to practical use: utilizing her eerie pyrokinesis to warm meals in the palms of her hands. She now extended both her extremities to Jack's face, revealing a pair of crackling tempura shrimp wreathed in unearthly, aqua flames. Of course, the boy hesitated at first, but acquiesced to her offering with an open mouth.

_I must be absolutely crazy…_

Whether the youth was half-dreaming or not, he decided that his companion could not mean him harm if she had been so hospitable so far. He did not mind that she continued to hand feed him long after he had finished his first bite of shrimp, nor did he mind the strange, smoky, almost silky aftertaste her fire left in his mouth. This process went on for several minutes before either of them thought to go check on the computer's progress, yet Jack presently carried no such concern. There was no way he could be fixed on anything other than how Kimiko was looking at him right now.

"Boy, you really were hungry," she chuckled at the boy as she wiped his mouth with one finger, "Polished off the whole damn box."

"Oh… 'M sorry," he mumbled absentmindedly.

The look on his face must have been dopey and rosy enough to suggest how truly enthralled he was, because it got a hearty laugh out of his friend. "An apology? From Jack Spicer?" she feigned shock amid bubbly giggling, "It really _has_ been a long time!"

It was not long before the girl retrieved more food to cram down Jack's throat, and the redhead found himself being dragged back to the living quarters. He was deposited roughly but teasingly on the sofa before Kimiko, herself, took a seat and continued to feed him once more. This time, however, she cradled him sideways, placing his head on her lap so she could look down upon him with those bottomless, blue eyes.

"I dunno what you've been downloading all these years, but it looks like that scan is gonna take a while," she grinned.

It took Jack a second to realize that she was purposefully dangling a piece of roast chicken just out of his reach, forcing him to keep his mouth open like an eager baby sparrow.

"How long do ya think it'll b—" he was cut off as he finally received the last bite of his dinner, and a particularly strong, satisfying wave of Kimiko's flames washed over his palate. Yet, as wonderful as it was to feel full and comfortable, nothing could prepare him for what followed.

The girl presently sat him upright, grasping the back of his head with one hand, while she embraced him around the middle with her free arm. Jack's vision was flooded with that lovable, dolled-up face as she further sealed the space between them, closing her black-painted lips over his. The boy was shy when her tongue first entered him, but he soon dared himself to try and mimic her motion, aggressively tangling and prying. It proved to be futile, though, as she simply wrestled him to lying on his back so that she could straddle his midsection. Heart rates soared, breathing grew ragged and heavy, and lean, sleek bodies writhed in an energetic wave until Kimiko finally sat back to answer her guest with a lewd smile.

"Dunno… It could take all night."

Jack managed a squeak, suddenly feeling very light-headed from the sudden assault on his mouth. Even if he wanted a legitimate explanation for why she seemed to want him and welcome him so, he could not form the words to ask her. Everything resonated with the throbbing of his pulse as he remained comfortably restrained under the girl's weight. The sensation only grew stronger as he watched her deliberately scoot backwards until she came to a rest on his pelvis. Dizzy as the boy was, he knew very well what his hostess was on about – or, rather, what she had been on about this whole time.

"You look surprised," she said, leaning in once again. This time, she began to nibble on his right ear, making him whine and wriggle, "I'm pretty sure I remember someone saying how his little request would '_definitely make us not even anymore_…'"

Okay. That counted for _some_ sort of explanation, but that certainly could not have been all! The redhead was torn between laughing aloud and screaming in arousal as Kimiko began to deliberately grind with her hips while biting down on the sensitive flesh of his ears and neck. This was retribution? For a computer repair? Hardly! He knew now how she wanted him – how she must have been wanting him – just as he must have latently been pining for her all these years. The boy could feel it in his bones as the fiery, little woman sank her pearly teeth into his throat, and he yelped loudly. Whether or not she left marks was fine by him, Jack decided. He had done his share of damage to her beautiful face, albeit on account of his former stupidity and arrogance, so she was welcome to have him in any way she wished.

"O-oh… So you wanna get even, huh?" he managed a determined grin amid groaning and sighing.

"You bet your ass, I do," Kimiko responded by seizing the lad by his thick, flaming red hair and yanking his head back to further expose his neck.

Jack felt his eyes physically roll back in their sockets. He did cry out in ecstasy now, both at how she bit, sucked, and kissed his pliant, white skin, and at how she just grappled him in a brash display of authority. The redhead had to actually fight to get the words past his own mouth again.

"Then… lean… back…" he ground out to her, though not out of malice whatsoever.

Much to his surprise, Kimiko complied. Her ebony lips remained curled up with brazen glee as she remained atop her beloved guest for just a moment longer, regarding him with eyes that glittered with untold wickedness. When she did allow him to move again, she lay back against the opposite arm of the sofa, arms and legs spread like those of a ragdoll. It was apparent she did not fear whatever might be in store, and it made Jack all the more nervous as he righted himself to crawl over his mistress' slim, supple body. He found it only mildly worrying that she continued to smile as he unbuttoned her vivid blouse with shaking hands and lowered his reddened face to her chest.

They were a little bigger than the boy had expected, and it did nothing to calm his quickening pulse – both beneath his ribs and elsewhere – when he noticed that she sported nothing beneath her shirt. The skin of her breasts was as creamy and pale as the rest of her, but there was something so new about this softness, this extra level of vulnerability, that was simply irresistible. On any other occasion, the mere thought of seeing Kimiko like this was too lecherous in Jack's mind. But now, even as she lay here, inviting him with her warm countenance, the youth felt as though he were defiling some sort of sacred ground as he moved aside a flap of orange fabric and closed his mouth over a tender, pink bud.

He was pleasantly astonished once more with the results, however, and he felt his face flush even more deeply than before at the sound of her scream. The shuddering and pleasured crying were all the indication the boy needed to continue. With one hand tentatively stroking her side, and with the other massaging her other breast, the redhead worked his tongue over the girl's sensitive flesh, occasionally offering a little tease with his teeth. Soon, he felt both her hands upon his head, encouraging him. The motions were gentle at first, but quickly devolved to rough rakings of her nails through his hair, leaving his scalp flushed and sore.

How he relished every second of it. Jack did not even protest when his hostess physically yanked his head away to align him with the gland he had not yet tended to. She was so… commandeering. It made his blood pump and his heart soar. It made him crave her in ways he would have thought of as scorchingly sinful only days ago…

The girl must have felt his arousal against her leg, because she now pulled him back by his hair and bossed him about once more, this time aligning his face with the button on the front of her shorts.

Jack nearly felt his heart stop.

"That what you want?" Kimiko taunted him, laughing as she undid her suspenders and peeled off her top.

"Uh—y-ye—" the lad stuttered terribly, now completely at a loss for words.

Evidently, his guttural whimpering was all the encouragement the young beauty required. With her back arched, she unsnapped her pants and slid them off over Jack's head, freeing herself of everything save for her socks. Once more, she guided his face to her need, commandeering him purely for the extra dimension of satisfaction.

Neither the taste nor the texture bothered him. In fact, the redhead dared to describe it as incredibly pleasant between his mistress' legs. Again, he put his flexible tongue to use, exploring her curiously and stroking her lovingly, eliciting surprised screams and moans. When she ran her hands through his hair, he closed his eyes, and his motions gradually turned to absentminded licks. It was only when he ran his slick organ across what he assumed to be the most alert member of her nethers that he snapped his head up. Though he wanted to know why she was writhing so suddenly and so much, he was not permitted to see the girl's face. He felt her shoving him back down to her pelvis with both hands, and he complied with her commands without hesitation.

"Why did you stop?" Kimiko practically wailed, "Down. Down… Don't stop…"

Not a word could have been heard from Jack, even if he had been willing to speak. All manner of speech and verbal cues had devolved to joyous murmurs amid the wet puckering noises of his lips and tongue between his companion's petals. Every little suckle and nibble he dealt to Kimiko's flesh elicited rhythmic moans and twisting from the girl. Her slender body alternated between wriggling violently and going completely slack, and the boy was forced to wrap his arms respectively about her thighs to hold them open. At length, though, his attempts at restraining her did no good, and the redhead was torn away from his mistress' soft, heated entrance.

He was certain he heard Kimiko muttering "I want you," and "lay back," and he ended up falling limply against the couch cushions when she sat him up and shoved him. He glanced up at her with sleepy, ruby eyes as she undressed him with startling ease. Before long, the girl had rid her guest of his coat, sweater, and belt, leaving him bare from the waist up, and vulnerable to her next order of business. Jack loosed a tiny, strangled cry as his companion unbuttoned the front of his slacks and reached in.

"_Hngh! Haah_… You're… pretty serious about payback, huh?" he said with a lusty smile. The lad fought the urge to recoil in surprise, and he began to fiercely internally debate on whether or not to confess that no one had ever laid a hand on him down there…

"Yeah. That, 'n' you pretty much have 'virgin' stapled to your forehead," Kimiko snorted, though in jest.

"And you expect me to believe that a goody two-shoes monk like you 's been around the block?" Jack erupted in nervous laughter, but almost immediately stopped and caved to ragged gasping.

The lavender-haired girl was upon him once more, one hand down the front of his pants, and one holding the panting youth steady while she smothered him with kisses again.

"That answer your question?" she asked when she pulled away.

Before the boy could answer, he fell to bucking his hips and whimpering uncontrollably at Kimiko's touch. Her grip and motions bordered on violent, but Jack did not mind. It felt so wonderful, and he was growing so needy, he happily welcomed the fusion of pleasure and pain. He wrapped his arms around her in longing as she tended to him roughly, starting with slow but firm strokes, and building to aggressive groping. Soon, she had slid his pants all the way off of him, leaving the boy in just his gloves, boots, and goggles. All the while, she continued to rub, thumb, and grapple his member, making him arch his back and groan.

"_Ha-ah_… It… actually sorta raises more…" the redhead muttered, unable to wipe the slack smile off of his face, "Feels like you've… had way more practice than me… _Uh-unh_…" He soon gave in to little cries of pleasure again, absentmindedly spreading his legs to allow his mistress better access.

"You look so sweet when you're wriggling like that," Kimiko murmured to him as she nibbled his ears again, "Now you're really askin' for it."

What she did next practically made the poor boy's heart leap up into his throat. If he had not felt like crying in sheer joy before, he physically did so now. Tears streamed down Jack's face as his lover crawled upon him and settled herself upon his aroused, weeping organ. Never before had he felt such an intense tightness envelop him, nor had he ever been encased in such satisfying heat. He screamed aloud as Kimiko began to lower herself, easing down his length and effectively making his entry that much sweeter.

"Ohhhnnggh… _Ungh!_" the lad moaned, and then loosed a sharp yelp as Kimiko grasped him by a fistful of his hair to tug his head back again.

"Rotten, little thing," she growled into his ear, right before she began to move.

The rocking was slow, at first, of course. Nonetheless, it was enough to make Jack writhe, shudder, and sob in delight. As much as he willed himself to offer a witty comeback, or even say something about how incredibly exhilarating she was, he was at a loss for words. All he could do was cry and call out her name, over and over and over…

"Kimiko… Oh, Kim…"

She dealt him some rough, sloppy kisses on his neck in response, still grinding with her hips and further pushing him into oblivion. In turn, he began to work himself accordingly, keeping the length of his body waving in time with her forceful rocking. Despite his efforts to participate, however, it was clear who was in charge...

This feeling – no, this whole experience – could become his whole existence. It could be the last good thing to ever happen to Jack, and he would still be satisfied with his entire life. No memory or future prospect of suffering and defeat could tear away this bliss. It would be imprinted upon him forever… Every electric wave of unfettered joy that broke over his nerves simply engraved that fact into his semi-conscious mind.

The redhead now slowly gathered his strength, building his rhythm and desperately trying to grip at Kimiko's pale form. He ran his hands up her sides as he bucked and cried, taking in the shape of her curves before he stopped at her chest. Despite the noises she made at having her breasts cupped and squeezed so roughly, she never missed a beat. In fact, she began to thrust harder than ever before. Jack had to struggle to keep a hold on her and not just go completely slack in ecstasy. His borderline musical screams rose louder and higher with every move the girl made. He continued to grasp her beautiful, creamy skin, knowing full well how tender and bruised he might leave her bosom – and silently hoping she would take the invitation to go all out, herself.

Kimiko, seeming to take the hint, lowered herself into the boy's grip. It startled him at first and made his breathing even more ragged than it already was with their rigorous activity. But when he saw the gleam in her bright, sapphire eyes again, he was instantly reminded of who was in charge of their little romp.

When she bit him this time, he reacted with such force, he was surprised that they both did not roll off the couch. The explosion of pain in his lower lip coursed through every synapse in his already alert body, further igniting him and sending him closer to release.

"Like that?" Kimiko took a moment to break the bloody kiss before returning to biting down on her lover's mouth, this time targeting his tongue.

Despite an unmistakable taint of agony, the noise that bubbled forth from Jack's throat suggested how close he was to coming. Yet, amid his gratified outcry, he dared to beg a request of his mistress as soon as she allowed him some air.

"Neck…" he whimpered, "P-please. Make it hurt…"

Before he could get a good look at the expression on Kimiko's face, she was already tending to him, biting down on his supple throat and making him sob with joy. There would definitely be a mark there in the morning, he knew. The mere thought of sporting significations of the girl's possession over him made the boy sore and eager, and he sank his own teeth into the spot in his lip where hers had been only moments ago. He began to writhe and rock even harder, and started to claw at his lover's back with wild abandon, consequentially making her deepen her bite.

"Harder!" Jack screamed, "Harder, dammit!" he raked his nails across her soft, sleek body, leaving tiny, scarlet trails embedded in her pearly flesh.

In turn, Kimiko gnawed, scraped, sucked, and chewed, effectively turning the boy's pale throat into a tie-dye of purple and pink blotches.

At length, the pair seemed to reach their limit as Jack felt his companion's teeth actually break his skin. The girl shuddered violently before going slack against his form, right as he arched his back and released with one last primal shriek. The grasp of her insides felt satisfyingly painful and suffocating before, but the speed and intensity of their thrusts had become simply overwhelming and had left him so incredibly sore… When he emptied himself, it was as though the last of his energy were drained from his body, and he collapsed backwards in enervation.

"Oh, my god… Th-thank you…" the youth murmured to his hostess, who had somehow managed to remain somewhat upright.

"No worries," she panted, her pink and purple breasts heaving up and down, "We're even now…" She lay down beside the boy now, wrapping one arm about his shoulders to console him in his aching and exhaustion.

"You know what I mean…" Jacked mumbled blissfully, slowly shutting his eyes.

Perhaps it was the welcomed, soporific afterglow already starting to take him, but he was sure he saw a glint in Kimiko's eyes… Something that made him think she had something to say to him. It hardly mattered, though. At least, nothing else seemed important now that he had the girl he had always wanted stroking his hair and sending him off to sleep.

If that damned laptop never finished scanning, that was fine by him.


End file.
